I have a bit of an interesting story to tell. I met a girl just chatting online back in May. We went out dancing one time and had a few drinks. Then (as irony would have it) she took me to a Foo Fighters concert in July here in Seattle.

So last week I was chatting with her and I happened to have a pic of the SR-71 in my chat window. She recognized it as the "blackbird," which I thought was interesting since not everyone would know that. I remembered her telling me she grew up in California. So I asked where in Cali specifically and she confirmed my thinking.... Lancaster, an aerospace town.

Turns out her dad was a "mock up tooling mechanic." Furthermore, he worked for Lockheed and had secret clearance. Here's a bit from our conversation:

jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:26:26 PM): ok so not the blackbird
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:26:31 PM): i dont know
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:26:37 PM): he may have
jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:26:39 PM): you mean the F 117 Nighthawk
jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:26:44 PM): does that ring a bell?
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:26:48 PM): no
jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:27:03 PM): ?
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:27:24 PM): we used to go to lockheed on like family night at we go to go into the hangers and look at the planes
jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:27:51 PM): when was that? 80s or 90s ?
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:28:15 PM): early 90's
jzeppelin77 (9/12/2006 7:29:29 PM): B-2 stealth?
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:29:36 PM): that sounds familiar

More conversation from that night......

Jessica (9/12/2006 7:51:39 PM): he had pretty high clearance when he was working in New Mexico and he said one time he walked into a hanger and saw something that he wasnt supposed to
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:51:56 PM): i dont think he ever told me what it was
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:52:01 PM): i should ask him
Jessica (9/12/2006 7:52:10 PM): i figured it was a ufo or something


Having an interest in UFOs, secret planes, and USA military capabilities I couldn't believe what she was typing me. I mean what luck! A girl whos head over heels for me and her dad used to work for Lockheed on secret material! Plus her dad is a stoner so I thought maybe there was an outside chance he would divulge something... Unfortunately it didn't happen. Her dad was in town last weekend and I caught her on chat Saturday evening. Her dad was with her.


Jessica (9/16/2006 6:49:50 PM): hello
jzeppelin77 (9/16/2006 7:18:50 PM): where is your dad lets get him stoned !! lol
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:19:12 PM): hes actually standing right here
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:19:27 PM): he's puff puff puffn away right now
jzeppelin77 (9/16/2006 7:20:09 PM): haha
jzeppelin77 (9/16/2006 7:20:21 PM): ask him what he saw in the hanger that he wasnt supposed to ?
jzeppelin77 (9/16/2006 7:20:29 PM): ask him if it was aurora !
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:20:45 PM): I did ask him and he said he cant say
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:20:58 PM): he said he isnt sure if they ever made the aurora
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:21:08 PM): he did a mock up of it though
jzeppelin77 (9/16/2006 7:21:33 PM): what does that mean? what was aurora designed to be? blackbird replacement?
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:21:58 PM): he literally just walked out the door
Jessica (9/16/2006 7:22:08 PM): he said he cant say

hypersonic doesnt seem to be much of intrest.few reasons are behnd it so even if there were hypersonic aircraft(dont belive it)i still wont vote it to be the sky ruler of the country.

and i think i'll agree with intelgurl and gfad on this.

Originally posted by Murcielago
people connected the dots.
Between the U-2 & the Blackbird, 3 main things happened in the recon area:Faster, Higher, Stealthier. Theres no reason to think that the trend didn't continue.
[edit on 9-9-2006 by Murcielago]

Good point! The main reason I have some doubts about the hypersonic spyplane is because there are KNOWN limits to Human tolerance! Even in the Blackbird, they were finding that the extreem speed was exhausting for the crew!

A Captain who flew the SR-71 once siad:

I've flown a 26 1/2 hour mission in a B-52, and I've flown a 4 hour mission in the SR-71. At the end of both missions, you are at about the same level of exhaustion

SOURCE: Aviation Week and Space Video, SR-71 Blackbird, The Secret Vigil

I see your point, but I question if a human pilot can endure it long enough to fly a useful military mission. The fastest manned aircraft, the X-15, reached Mach 6, but only held top speed for a few breif minutes (I think about 4 or 5). You can build a manned Airplane that will go Mach 25 and fly for 8 hours, but if no human can handle the stress of flying it, what good it it?

Tim

[edit on 22-9-2006 by ghost]

Originally posted by ghost
You can build a manned Airplane that will go Mach 25 and fly for 8 hours, but if no human can handle the stress of flying it, what good it it?

This is all quite true - but one must consider that at Mach 25 you're going to circle the earth in about an hour and 15 minutes (approx). So there would be no 8 hour trips unless you were joyriding or in orbit. Seems to me one hour and 15 minutes at such speeds, exhausting or not is quite conceivable.

(I do however keep with my previous post, that I would think that any such aircraft does not have to be hypersonic as that does indeed bring up a lot of issues. If it exists my money is on a combined cycle ramjet operating in the high supersonic regime.)

[edit on 9-25-2006 by intelgurl]

Originally posted by intelgurl

Originally posted by ghost
You can build a manned Airplane that will go Mach 25 and fly for 8 hours, but if no human can handle the stress of flying it, what good it it?

This is all quite true - but one must consider that at Mach 25 you're going to circle the earth in about an hour and 15 minutes (approx). So there would be no 8 hour trips unless you were joyriding or in orbit.
[edit on 9-25-2006 by intelgurl]

I'm fully aware of that! I only choose those numbers in order to make a point.

Simplly put: It doesn't matter what the technology limits of a manned aircraft are, if the human body can't handle the stress of flying it, the plane is WORTLESS!

No offence, but not every statement I make, needs to be analysed in detail. I purposly overstated the length of the trip to make my point.

Tim

Ghost, if we were to make a manned aircraft that goes Mach 25, they'll probably have a cabin that will protect the humans from the outside velocities and pressures. As you've said, a Mach 25 aircraft is pretty useless if no one can ride it, that's why we would make it rideable.

Shattered OUT...

Why do we need a mach 25 spyplane anyway? Mach 5 with some of the modern stealth features would do just fine for a reconnassance mission.

What purpose would going 25 times the speed of sould serve?

Tim

Well I was talking hypothetically if we were ever to build a mach 25 aircraft lol because you had brought it up.

But I could understand why a Mach 25 spy plane would come in handy, to come in at altitude faster than any missiles are capable of shooting it down, because I'm sure there are SAMs out there that can go up to Mach 4 maybe Mach 5. Am I right on that? Or is Mach 3 a more reasonable figure?

Shattered OUT...

I don't know how fast missiles can go, but I would have thought you ould need a powerful computer to guide one into an aeroplane travelling at Mach 25. I would have thought a Strategic Defense Initiative type laser would be more useful against something that fast.

this is some cool stuff, we got i want to see more like this this web is cool

My father retired from the USAF in January of '91. Our last station for a year and a half was Edwards AFB. I was priveledged to see the shuttle land, the B-2, F117A and YF-22/23, F15 STAL, X29, X30, and the more mundane C17. The 22 and 23 actually both flew over wingtip to wingtip as we were driving out at about 150-200 ft.!

While I was in Alaska I experienced something that only ball lightening has ever explained after learning about it years later. I got to play in a U2 too.

At any rate, I was getting a ride to a youth LDS church activity in North Edwards once with two pilots present. They were discussing flying this aircraft (Aurora) and how impressed they were with it. At the time it meant nothing to me except an opportunity to overhear somthing interesting. later I read somewhere about this "conspiracy" and laughed in rememberance. I do not remember any specifics and do not intend my word to represent proof. Only an interesting story.

I also toured a neat facility where planes are tested for vibration, that's a fun place. Galloping girdy only with planes, wings flapping like a bird!

I do know the names of the pilots and no I will not divuldge them.

Hey Pitchfire,

Their names are irrelevant. Why not try going out for a few cold ones with them and see if you can get them loosened up and willing to give some info???

We have the right to know... our tax money buys that stuff... the hell with the NSA

Aurora project if it exists, has been in the UFO and other news for awhile now. If it exists, I feel there is room for such after the retirement of the SR71, which didn't exist until they wanted the public to know it did.

Not having all that much knowledge on Spy Satellites as to how many and where and how/if they can change orbits, and how fast if they can..

I'd say there is a whole lot of room for a Mach 8 or better Spy and Attack aircraft. There has been speculation of an energy used for propulsion that moves matter at the atomic level. I take that to mean no kinetic right angle turn -- gravity is formed. Far out I know and agree. But if true acceleration may not be a factor on the human body.

Dallas

Originally posted by WestPoint23
you know what would be funny if the aurora really dosent exist.

It does, in certain circles it is not a seceret at all...

The misconception would be that it is in some way a military aircraft. Or a inteligence gathering aircraft..

Iv told the story before on how I know, I don't like talking about it because I never got permission from the family member who worked on the project..

Anyways, It is considered a "space plane" .. used for take off and landing much like a regular plane, only this one can break through the atmosphere. It could be used in Bush's plan to militarize space, I would not know that.. I only know is that it was a project in the making, it got shut down in the mid 90's and after 9/11 was restarted. Popular Mechanics Magazine did a nice special on it, they proved it was there by looking at the budget and the blackhole of billions going into one single project, also looking at Patent submission by the Airforce and private contractors. Nothing shows it will ever be used as a military aircraft though, which I hope it is just scientific and will be used by NASA.

EDIT: Decided to add how I know as vague as possible.

My uncle works as a head contractor, he makes up the big deals with the private companies with the Air Force. Some of the planes hes headed are the F-22, the big plane that refuels other planes, a few smaller aircraft I'm not sure the names of.. the plane with the big disk on top (I'm not good at planes if you can tell.. I just vividly remember the pictures and the little models all over his office..) and a shiny black one which had its own shelf in his office. That one I am sure I was not supposed to see.. it looks exactly like the Aurora, of course when I saw it I was just 13 or so.. I had no idea what it was. I was told it was a space plane, every one in the office with us apparently new about it, his secretary even made a joke about it.. So a few years later I saw an article on it on the web, decided to ask my dad if he knew anything about what my uncle did and the mystery plane. He apparently knew a lot about it, talked to me as if I should to.. naturally he talks to my uncle more and has known him longer then I lol.. Any ways, the jist of it is it is a space plane.. and they just re-started the project..

The reasons for secrecy if it is not a new weapon? .. It is my logical understanding of how our government works is that every thing is a secret until it is blown open, which they usually have someone make wild claims to discredit their own work. We keep it secret because there are enemies out there, that if they where to get the technology could be disastrous. someone really could make a weapon out of it (if we have not already) like say China or even Russia.. the technology and the money it takes to construct planes like these or any other new exotic technology means we need to watch for the big boys, not little terrorist states.. that's why it's secret.

[edit on 10/28/2006 by Rockpuck]